Vehicle suspension systems relying on air springs instead of conventional steel springs can provide improved and adjustable ride quality. Historically, vehicles have incorporated air springs where active adjustments of suspension parameters (e.g., attenuation force, ride height, spring constants, etc.) are desired. Electronic control systems and software have recently been developed to provide automation and control (e.g., closed-loop control, open-loop control) to active air suspension systems; however, such systems and methods suffer from a number of drawbacks. In particular, many systems are excessively complex (e.g., systems that require numerous machining operations to form and assemble, need complicated arrangements of gaskets and seals to function properly, etc.), highly specified (e.g., systems that are made for a specific vehicle configuration and/or lack reconfigurability), and expensive to manufacture (e.g., systems of predominantly metal construction that are expensively machined, systems with high part counts that are intensively assembled, etc.). Other limitations of conventional electronically controlled air suspension systems include one or more of: unacceptable quality tradeoff with cost, lack of manufacturability for low cost, large system cross-section and/or footprint causing difficulty with integration into other systems and/or facilities, and other deficiencies.
Furthermore, construction of robust electronic control units, including complex manifolds, that can be manufactured at a low per-unit cost is particularly challenging. Challenges include: integration of sub-system components (e.g., actuators, electronic control systems, etc.) with the manifold; fabrication of the manifold; retooling of the electronic control unit for various customer applications without unduly specializing the assembly process; and reducing the number of operations necessary to electronically couple the internal components of the electronic control units.
There is thus a need in the air suspension field to create a new and useful electronically controlled air suspension system and method of manufacture. This invention provides such a new and useful system and method.